Pokémon: Vortex
by lightspeedtooslow
Summary: In a darker take on the pokémon world, Jacob Reyes, an ex-trainer comes out of retirement after an attack from criminal team Vortex damages his life forever. On the other side of the coin, Vortex admin Jackson Tonnes assists in leading the team on their brutal crusade against the innocent in a twisted plot to bring the world to its knees.
1. Chapter 1

Sarah Reyes sat unphased by the loud *thump* of something slamming into her kitchen window. She giggled as she set the newspaper down and took a small kitchen knife in her hand while walking to the window. After etching the ninth tally mark into the window sill, she opened it to greet her father's wingull who once again made the mistake of assuming the clean window was open. She fed him a small treat and untied the letter attached to his foot, it was a letter from her parents. They didn't write much anymore, since the discovery of a new evolutionary line of pokémon, both being researchers, they didn't have very much time for their children anymore, though Sarah was okay with this; since she offered to take care of her brother after turning 18 so that their parents could travel the world. That was a little over four years ago, and today was her brother's turn to open the letter. Sarah bid farewell to the wingull and it flew off, she went to her brother's room and pounded on the door.  
"Jacob, get up, got a letter from mom and dad. We also have work in forty minutes, you better not be sleeping" she yelled through the wood. The door was locked, though she was wise not to just walk right into the room of her 17-year-old younger brother. After a minute there was a grunt, a groan, and the sound of Jacob accidentally rolling off his bed. The boy was clumsy in the mornings, but efficient. Within minutes he was dressed and at the door, eager to see what their parents had said to them. They went to the kitchen together with hardly a word, as to begin their day together on the best note possible. Sitting down, Sarah began to pour her brother a bowl of cereal, she popped a small handful into her mouth but restrained from taking more since she already had breakfast. Jacob began to carefully open the envelope, without looking up he spoke,  
"Did dad's wingull fly into the window again?" Sarah giggled again  
"Yes" she said as she poured the milk and slid the bowl to Jacob. This time the letter was written by their mother, he cleared his throat and then read aloud.  
"Dear Sarah and Jacob, sorry we haven't written in such a long time, we've been swamped with work ever since the discovery of these new pokémon. They're quite unusual, a dual-type ice/steel, they try very hard to keep to themselves. We have not attempted capturing any of them, but your father wants to try soon. They kinda look like armored mightyena with blue and purple fur. We'll send a photo as soon as we're allowed. Anyways, we both hope that you two are doing well and hope to hear from you again soon, it's been so long since we've seen your beautiful faces, and we miss you a lot. Love you always, mom and dad" He lowered the envelope to the table and began to dig into his cereal. Sarah began to imagine the pokémon. she couldn't help but imagine a frosty mix of a mightyena and an absol. Her thoughts were interrupted by her brother who had finished his breakfast already.  
"Hey, wanna race me to work?" he blurted out, she turned to him quizzically  
"And be all sweaty? No thanks"  
"Oh come on, it's not that far"  
"Not that far? Only two kilometers, yea I sprint that distance every other day, great cardio"  
"You're no fun at all"  
"Got your stuff together? We gotta go"  
"Yea, do you have your keys this time?" Sarah sighed  
"Yes little brother, I have my keys". The two of them left their home on the outskirts of Ruberia City, a medium-sized city located south of the center of the Cabaro region. Ruberia City is most famous for its Pokémon Sky Arena, a large tower looming over the city that is host to numerous events for pokémon trainers from all over to compete in. This week was a very important event in which some of the greatest pokémon trainers from all over the world would compete in. This meant a busy schedule for Jacob and Sarah because they worked in the nearby Pokémon Care Center. Unlike many care centers, this one was extraordinarily large, it featured a large dome over many biomes that pokémon could free-roam in, since more experienced trainers prefered their pokémon to rest outside of their pokéballs and theirs were trained enough to be docile towards each other. Just in time, the siblings made it into work and clocked in. Jacob made sure he stopped to pet the residing growlithe owned by the care center, it wagged its tail in satisfaction. Sarah went into the tech room and sat down at the computer, punching in her login info. Jacob went out into the dome, he could hear the sounds of tamed pokémon living as if they were still wild. Breathing in the crisp air, he toured the dome. With a massive radius of 300 meters, the dome and its small front building make up the second largest building in Ruberia City. Jacob could see other caretakers checking up on the roaming pokémon, he did the same. Sarah's job was much less hands-on versus her brother's. She monitored pokémon activity through her computer station, keeping an eye on the vitals of each resident. They were all linked to their pokéballs sitting in the storage room, data flow was easy to collect and view. Sarah was also tasked with watching the pokémon through the cameras. The day flowed just as any other, Jacob figured it to be quite uneventful. Until he stumbled upon an uncommon sight: an egg, lying in the brush. Jacob was in the forest section of the dome, there were a couple pokémon in the area, but none that he could determine to be the parents. Carefully hefting the egg, he examined it. All pokémon eggs were similar, with a milky white shell covered in large green spots. This was one of the many mysteries surrounding pokémon reproduction, it's nearly impossible to determine what was inside. Jacob stood puzzled as he wondered who the parents were, he looked around and began to walk with it, approaching pokémon he recalled to be compatible with the egg.  
"Is this your egg?" he asked as he held it towards potential parents, most ignored him or sniffed the egg, but ignored it. Jacob's confusion increased, he looked around again and headed back to the area where he found the egg. Still no sign of the creators of his ball of life, Jacob decided to craft a small makeshift nest for the egg. Thinking back to how certain bird-type pokémon like to build nests in trees, he built up a suitable nest off the trail. After softly placing the egg down, he returned to his normal rounds. Jacob began learning about how to be a caretaker ever since he and his sister moved from Unova. Jacob thought of when he himself was a pokémon trainer, he quickly extinguished those thoughts however, he preferred not to think about them. Since his retirement from pokémon training, he had studied as much about the creatures as he could. He didn't mind people battling with pokémon, since they enjoyed doing it themselves, but had a distaste in how many people treat them.  
Idle chatter rang around as Jackson Tonnes slipped on his coat, Team Vortex enjoyed flashing their colors to anyone within sight, but needed to avoid any sort of confrontation today. In the wake of the Diamond Tour arriving at Ruberia City this week, Vortex planned to hit the care center housing the competitors' pokémon. Recently the group had been laying low, people were smart to be cautious but dumb to let their guards down. Recon suggested that the center features little to no security, save for one mascot pokémon that roams the lobby and cameras. Jackson laughed at the report when it came in, they weren't exactly planning on sneaking in. The growlithe could prove to be useful if toughened up, but not a priority. Jackson stepped onto the makeshift stage that had been built in their little hideout, a building hidden in the forest west of Ruberia City.  
"Alright, shut your faces and listen up" he began, the small band of Vortex grunts immediately quited as their Admin began to speak. "At this point you all should be ready to leave. Remember the plan of action: take what you can, kill the rest. Leave nothing behind, anything that even remotely poses a threat will be eliminated. Everyone check their v-catchers before we go, other than that, we're ready. Vortex in perpetuum"  
"Vortex in perpetuum" the grunts responded in unison, the eight of them began to fiddle with their v-catchers as they filtered out the door towards the road. While not perfect, the v-catchers were effective at breaking the connection between pokémon and pokéball, sending them instead to Vortex terminals rather than ones owned by the pokémon trainers. Jackson inspected the six he clipped onto his belt, they were stylized like regular pokéballs but black with a purple V on the front to symbolize their users. While one could carry more than just six, Jackson preferred symmetry to the other side of his belt that held his six combat pokémon. Vortex honored the old tradition of only carrying six pokémon at any given time, not including those trapped in the v-catchers. Some members desired to add more, for extra security, but their requests were rejected due to the arrogance of their leadership. Vortex was feared by most, and any who attempted to stand up to the villainous team were generally taken down. Very rarely would a grunt be bested in battle, and when such a thing happened, the grunt would be shunned and removed for their failure; if they were not arrested or killed first. Jackson tailed his men as they made for Ruberia City on foot. Groups of Vortex members were never very large, only between five and twelve at most; save for the three bases they operated out of. While small, a team of Vortex grunts could effectively bring a town to its knees. Police in Cobaro was weak, and could not effectively combat the criminals. Within an hour, the group arrived in Ruberia City, the care center was down the street. They were to waste no time, and made haste to the front entrance. Jackson ordered his men to wait outside for the signal, and then removed one of the pokéballs on his belt. He examined the net ball's smooth blue exterior before pointing it towards the ground and tapping the button on the front. The ball opened up, and his scyther materialized on the ground in front of him. It stretched out its arms and wings before turning around to face its summoner. Jackson nodded his head towards the pokémon and turned around; pushing the door open, his scyther followed close. They were greeted by the woman standing behind the counter in the lobby.  
"Hello! Welcome to the Ruberia Care Center, how may I help you?" she cheerfully started, Jackson's eyes scanned the lobby for a moment before answering.  
"Here for a pick-up"  
"Okay, can I get your name please?"  
"Jackson Smith"  
"Just a moment please" the woman began typing, her cheery expression shifted to a more concerned one before turning back to Jackson. "I'm sorry sir, your name doesn't seem to be here, which pokémon are yours?"  
"All of them"


	2. Chapter 2

The woman stood frozen in horror as Jackson took a step back and glanced at his scyther  
"Slash" he commanded. Before the woman could even react, the scyther was on top of the counter looming over her as she shook, it raised its arm and in one swift motion the woman was on the ground bleeding profusely from the neck. Jackson walked around the counter and stepped over the woman's lifeless body, he looked down and lifted his foot from the pool of blood. Returning his foot to the ground, he scoffed at the dead woman and examined the computer. All residing pokémon were active, Jackson scrolled through the list as the rest of the Vortex group entered the care center. Seeing the events unfold through the security cameras, Sarah immediately left her chair to go to her brother. She could hear screaming and yelling as Vortex swept through the building, silencing the employees one way or another. Because of the dome's immense size, Sarah began to panic as she shouted her brother's name. He was nowhere to be found, other employees ran in the opposite direction in an effort to escape or attempt to fight off the advancing assault. Some pokémon, drawn by the commotion, began to follow the employees into the front building. Those too large to fit through the doors stood and waited outside. Sarah continued to frantically search for her brother, she then noticed a familiar voice and turned to face it. Jacob was standing in the plains area trying to calm panicking pokémon, Sarah called out to him.  
"Jacob, I've been looking all over for you!" she shouted, his head shot up  
"Sarah? What's happening?"  
"It's Vortex, they're here, they're hurting people" Jacob's expression darkened  
"What are we going to do?"  
"We need to get out of here before we get killed"  
"But what about the pokémon?"  
"I don't know brother, but my priority is keeping you safe" Sarah ran to Jacob and grabbed his hand, the only way out was through the building, they began to run towards the entrance. As they neared it, the defending pokémon were blown back by a large fiery explosion. The serperior who had been closest to the door caught fire, it wriggled on the ground as its flesh burn. Out through the fire and smoke walked a massive mega charizard. Its dark, scorched orange scales were covered in numerous large scars.  
"Those aren't from battle" Jacob began, his sister was still on the ground from the shockwave of the explosion; she was too stunned to get back up. Jacob scanned the charizard as it loomed over the still-struggling serperior. He noticed a glow coming from within the beast's chest, something had been embedded inside of it. Before the serperior could recover, the charizard opened its mouth again letting molten flame drip from its teeth and a voice could be heard from behind the smoke.  
"Flamethrower" Jackson calmly announced, the charizard arched its head back and then blew a steady stream of intense fire upon the serperior. It screamed for a few moments before falling silent, Jackson emerged from the smoke. Sarah stumbled to her feet, her brother grabbed her by the arm and drug her by a tree. Jackson noticed the movement and began to walk forward, there was a rumbling sound, he froze in place. His gaze shifted to the nearby pond where a greninja sat unphased by the events occurring around it. Its eyes sat trained on Jackson, but then changed to look at the mega charizard standing behind the admin. Fire, ice, electricity, and energy of all sorts flew around while Vortex fought against the unwilling pokémon. Jacob and Sarah had a difficult time telling which were friendly and which were not. The greninja and charizard continued to lock eyes, a mexican standoff between the two opposing creatures. Suddenly, the greninja leaped forward and flung two water shurikens towards the charizard. Taking the charizard by surprise, both landed direct hits causing it to roar in pain. Jackson remained where he was and eyed the greninja who had just landed on the ground.  
"Fly" he said briefly before watching the charizard take off, the greninja began to throw water attacks towards the charizard, but all missed. As it descended, the charizard built up more and more speed, flying directly towards the greninja patiently sitting on the ground. Moments before impact, the greninja lowered its body and sprayed a jetstream of intense steam into the face of the charizard. Stunned by this sudden attack, the charizard smashed into the ground behind the greninja. Satisfied, it hopped away to defend against other assailants. Jackson shook his head in disdain and recalled the charizard back into its pokéball. Not forgetting about movement, he turned his attention back to the trees that Jacob and Sarah hid behind. He turned to his scyther who was still standing by his side. Jackson nodded towards the tree, his scyther walked towards it and stood on the opposite side staring directly into the wood. On the other side of the tree stood Sarah with her back to it, she slowed her breathing. Jacob eyed her from the adjacent tree, he shook his head at her, she stared in horror at her brother. The scyther crouched down and raised its arms, with a swift swipe of each, it severed the base of the tree, catching Sarah's ankles in the process. Sarah screamed in pain and startlement, the tree knocked her to the ground and pinned her legs down. The scyther stood over her as she struggled, she realized there wasn't any escape.  
"Sarah! No!" Her brother yelled, she looked over at him  
"Go! Now! Leave, get out, run" She yelled, the scyther ignored Jacob's presence and continued to loom over the trapped girl. Jacob began to run towards the fallen tree, ignoring the danger. The scyther's stance changed to an offensive one as it readied itself to strike, the moment Jacob came within range it lunged. Right before the blade could strike Jacob however, a field of blue light appeared in front of him and deflected the blow. Jacob slipped and fell to the ground, out of nowhere a gallade materialized in front of him. He grabbed Jacob and began to run away from the scyther, Jacob yelled to be let down but the gallade ignored him. From his view over the shoulder of the pokémon, Jacob watched in terror as the scyther kicked the log off of his sister. She struggled to get up, weak from the cuts on her ankle. Dazed by the loss of blood, she stumbled towards the scyther. It caught her by running its right sword arm through her abdomen.  
"NO!" Jacob yelled, he squirmed and the gallade stopped. He dropped Jacob to the ground and stared at him intensely. The eyes of the pokémon glowed a bright purple, Jacob fell unconscious. Sarah's mouth hung open as the scyther stood with its blade through her torso, blood trickled from the corners of her mouth. It lowered her to the ground and pushed her off its blade using the other one, her body flopped like a ragdoll onto the dirt. The scyther turned back to Jackson. After a short amount of time, Jacob awoke from his spell. A flurry of emotions swirled in his head, but he was unable to react. Muffled explosions rang around, as he gained his vision and hearing back, he noticed the gallade standing over him. Next to the gallade was a gardevoir, both had concerned looks on their faces. They had brought him to the opposite side of the dome, Jacob was confused  
"What? Where? Sarah?" He began to panic, the gardevoir kneeled down to calm him. Jacob began to cry, his sister was dead. The two pokémon looked at each other and looked back down at Jacob as he sobbed on the ground. The gardevoir walked over to the bushes nearby and picked up a large bundle of sticks, leaves and grass. Jacob quieted as he recognized the nest he had built earlier that day. The gardevoir unwrapped the egg that was inside, the pokémon stared at eachother again. "Are you the parents?" Jacob asked. The gardevoir kneeled again and placed the egg in Jacob's hands he looked back up in confusion. The gallade then helped Jacob up and lifted him by the shirt. Jacob turned his head to the wall behind him, there was a hole in it; he wondered if it was the work of the pokémon he was with or if it was the result of a stray attack. The gallade pushed him through the hole and threw him to the ground. He gripped the egg as he fell to the grass outside of the dome. Suddenly, he set the egg down and jumped back up, running back towards the hole he started yelling again. The gallade took notice to this and shot a bolt of psychic energy to the dome section above. The last thing he witnessed before the rubble covered the hole was the gardevoir being tackled by a zoroark. Jacob screamed some more while pounding on the thick walls of the dome. He knew he couldn't go around, or he'd be killed instantly, he turned back to the egg resting softly in on the ground. Jacob lifted the egg into his arms again and examined its shell. His examination was interrupted by an explosion at the top of the dome, he began to run away from it to get a view of what was up there. He turned his head to look as he ran, once he had gotten far enough away he noticed the mega charizard was awake again. It was also ascending straight up at a rapid speed. Jacob stopped and watched as the pokémon reached its peak, about a hundred meters above the top of the dome itself, it spread out its wings and began to freefall. While falling its wings lit up in flame and the charizard began to spin extremely fast. It entered the dome again and after a few seconds there was another large explosion. The dome began to collapse in on itself, Jacob started to run again as fast as he could. Ignoring the destruction behind him, Jacob began to run to the only place in mind: home. He gripped the egg as tight as he could as to not drop it, and made way towards his house. After arriving, he dropped to his knees at the door and sobbed again, his sister had the keys. Jacob continued to cry in front of his locked door for what felt like forever. Eventually he felt the desire to be inside, and so he smashed a window and set the egg on a table within reach. He froze for a moment again, the reality of what had happened was still setting in. After snapping out of it, Jacob climbed through the window and lifted the egg again. He couldn't bear to go into his sister's room, and quickly walked past it. Unsure of what to do with the egg, he set it in the pile of clean laundry he never sorted and then collapsed in bed. Unable to sleep, Jacob continued to lie face down in bed. Hours passed before he was stirred by a strange noise coming from the egg. He slowly got up, staring at it from the other side of the room, the egg was shaking. Understanding what was happening, Jacob shot up and went over to the egg. It shook more as small cracks began to form. The egg was hatching, Jacob quickly ran to the bathroom to grab a towel. Returning to the still-hatching egg, he cradled it in the towel. As the shell began to break away, a light shined through the cracks and holes. Finally the egg broke to pieces, The boy stared in awe at the creature inside.


	3. Chapter 3

The glitch pokémon stood on top of the Sky Arena watching down to the destruction below, its manifested eyes focused on the the care center as it collapsed in on itself. The hostiles that had previously been inside took off back where they came. He watched and listened as they laughed, governing their new prizes, and reveling in the massive success of their mission. His gaze shifted down to his arm, bits of broken data floated around his body, it struggled to follow as he moved. Memories of his past flooded his mind, he closed his eyes not to reject them, but to get a better view.  
 _"What are you?"_  
 _"A failure"_  
 _"You look like me, I saw my reflection in the glass"_  
 _"I am you, but broken"_  
 _"I don't understand"_  
 _"Like the other failures, but I'm different"_  
 _"How so?"_  
 _"They don't know about me"_  
 _"And if they did?"_  
 _"If they knew I existed, they would run to you for help"_ the memory faded from the pokémon's mind. He opened his eyes again and sighed, glancing again at the men running into the distance. On the other side of town, the pokémon noticed the home of a recently shattered soul. He teleported to it, and stood on the roof, Jacob sat inside. Jacob held something in his hands, the pokémon noticed a shimmering broken egg shell on the ground around his feet and made the connection. He focused sharply and decided on a fate; using his mind, he silently presented the boy with the inception of his future actions.  
 _"Do not let her death be in vain"_ Jacob looked up confused  
"Huh?" he said, searching for the foreign voice he heard in his head  
 _"Use the pokémon, she will follow you, she will protect you. The two of you are one in the same, your loss was not the first by the hands of the wicked. Do not let their deaths be in vain"_  
"Who are you?"  
 _"Vortex will return, go now or suffer"_ Jacob became frustrated, the entity was being too cryptic for his liking  
"Alright, I'll play it your way. Where am I going?"  
 _"Start with north, the rest will come on its own"_ The glitch pokémon teleported back on top of the Sky Arena, he smiled contently. He felt joy from swaying humans to bend to his will, they were so easily manipulated. More memories began to flood his mind, once again closing his eyes to capture them.  
 _"Sir! The pokémon is missing, it just broke out"_  
 _"Missing? Heh, no"_  
 _"What?"_  
 _"I myself think that he's closer than you would assume"_  
 _"Huh? What did you do to the colonel?"_  
 _"Oh don't worry, nothing worse than what you're about to experience"_  
 _"What the hell are you?"_  
 _"I would say 'your worst nightmare', but that's too cliche don't you think?"_ The memory faded from his mind. They reappeared at random times, which he tried to retain; though as he remembers, the feeling of wanting to repress them again came more often than not. The glitch pokémon chose to freeroam Cobaro, he could visit Arceus, or spar with the Forces of Nature. Instead he remained alone, meddling with the affairs of humans, which brought him a special happiness that couldn't be matched.  
Jacob stared down at the newborn in his hands, a newborn pokémon could battle moments after hatching, it fascinated him. The ralts was nearly a foot and a half long with shimmering blue hair covering its eyes, it almost glowed. Jacob continued to stare in amazement at the odd coloration of the pokémon, he'd never seen one that had something besides green hair. She watched him through her large crimson eyes from underneath the neat layer of hair, there was no sound but the breathing of the two. Jacob tried to hold in his sadness for the sake of the newborn, but the ralts began to sense his sorrow. She tilted her head, and started making a soft cooing noise, Jacob continued to stare, then he spoke.  
"I haven't raised a pokémon in a very long time" The ralts continued to make her noise. Jacob became overwhelmed again, memories of his days as a trainer resurfaced. The ralts struggled to be set down, he did so and she stared up at him, revealing her eyes fully. They glowed a familiar purple and Jacob fell backwards onto his bed, unconscious.  
The nightmare began like it always did, but it was faded this time. Jacob could see the woman crying again, like he did every night. This time her face blurred, the pain returned again. Words phased in and out, he could hear her voice again.  
"Not...fault...take…go...earned...please..." He wanted away from her voice, he couldn't face her. He could see the streaks of dark red from her hair across his vision, suddenly he was awoken. The ralts stood above him, he stared at her, confused with the mess he dreamed up.  
"Huh? It was different this time" he began, he was interrupted by the cooing of the ralts. After calming down, he turned to her. "Did you have something to do with it?" the ralts nodded her head. He thought for a moment, "Dream eater?" he inquired, the ralts stared at him puzzled. _"Of course you don't know dream eater yet"_ he thought to himself. They continued to stare at each other. "You made it fade, like a dream catcher" the ralts continued to stare, Jacob began to feel uncomfortable. Suddenly he remembered the words of the mysterious voice in his head, and turned to the ralts. "North...it said to go north, I think I want to" the ralts stopped its cooing noises and let out a cheery sound. Jacob got out of his bed and eyeballed the clock. It was 7:14am, he had slept the entire night. After stepping out the front door, he paused for a moment and turned to the ralts, she looked up at him and he kneeled down. "They cannot die in vain, will you come with me?" he asked. The ralts made the cheery noise again and Jacob stood up. He wasn't sure where he was gonna go or what he was gonna do, but the sadness he felt was now replaced with anger, and a fire for revenge burned in his heart. The two of them set out to Route 416, curious as to what awaited them. To the north was the capital of Cabaro, conveniently named Cabaro City. Once they arrived to Route 416, the duo turned down the long dirt path, both sides of the route were lined with dense forest. They began to walk forward, passing the occasional traveler walking in the opposite direction. Soon they came upon a girl sitting in a tree, looking for something. She wore a red t-shirt and white shorts, her hair was a dark orange, Jacob stopped and looked up at her.  
"Looking for something?" he asked, the girl jumped, not expecting anyone to speak to her  
"My brother, I can't find him anywhere" she said, looking down at Jacob  
"What does he look like?"  
"He has black hair, and he's about this tall" she stood up on the branch and held out her hand  
"You know you're standing in a tree right?" the girl lowered her arm  
"Ah, yea, you're right" she sat back down on the branch  
"What happened to your brother?"  
"He just vanished again, he's a troublemaker anyways, nothing new"  
"What were you doing before he vanished?"  
"We were looking for some trainers"  
"And he just disappeared?"  
"He does that sometimes"  
"Well, I guess I'll keep an eye out"  
"Thanks, hey did you know that some pokémon look for trainers?"  
"Wild pokémon?"  
"Yep, sometimes they actively seek out someone to care for them"  
"What kinds of pokémon would do that? None I've ever seen"  
"Uh, it's the kind you don't see very often, and they have a lot of power"  
"Are you talking about legendary pokémon?"  
"I think so"  
"Why would a legendary pokémon actually search for a trainer?"  
"Because pokémon with that kind of power are sought out by people who do not deserve them. People who wish to use their power for bad things, those who do not want this can be in danger"  
"Aren't legendary pokémon powerful enough to defend themselves?"  
"Have you never heard of a legendary pokémon being captured?"  
"You do have a point, but what if the chosen trainer turns out to be a bad person?"  
"That is the biggest problem, they would have to be very careful"  
"You seem to know a lot about this"  
"Do I?" she giggled, Jacob stood confused for a moment, but then decided he needed to move on. He said goodbye to the strange girl sitting in a tree and continued down the route. After a bit of silence, he turned to his ralts trotting next to him. He stopped, and she did too.  
"You're not much of a conversationalist, are you?" he said to the pokémon, she stared at him. "I'll take that as a no, I guess-" he was cut off by a noise in the forest. Curious, he began to follow it, sounded like yelling. After passing through a few trees, they came upon a small clearing. The only thing that could be seen was a lone tree in the middle, tied to it was an exceptionally unhappy man. The man was dressed in all black, and wore a navy blue ivy cap. His mouth was taped shut, Jacob reluctantly approached. The man looked up at Jacob noticed a small logo on the man's shirt, a dark blue circle with a purple V layered over it. Jacob made the connection immediately. _"Team Vortex?"_ he wondered, noticing that the man was unable to move, he ripped the tape from the man's mouth.  
"Oh man, thanks pal. I'd ask you to get me out of this, but you did just sorta fall into her trap" he said after sucking in a breath through his mouth, Jacob took a step back.  
"Trap? What trap? And who is 'her'" Jacob asked  
"'Her' is the same her who put me here, and unluckily for you, was waiting"  
"Waiting for what?"  
"My friends? I don't know, she's a bitch if you ask me"  
"Are you with team Vortex?"  
"As a matter of fact I am, guess she doesn't like us. Oh hey, speak of the devil"  
"Huh?" Jacob turned around, and was promptly met with a fist to the face, knocking him to the ground.


End file.
